Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Summer brings record heat, drought across the West
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Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Lordsburg Playa, Hidalgo County, New Mexico, 2018; Patrick Alexander, Wikimedia Commons ([link removed])
Summer is here and extreme heat is afflicting parts of the Southwest, while drought is taking hold in Montana.
A historic heat wave in Phoenix, Arizona has broken the record ([link removed]) for the most days under an excessive heat warning, which started on July 1 and will be in place through July 17. That number of days of the current warning nearly doubles Phoenix's past record, which was eight days. Rains from a behind-schedule monsoon season could provide some relief ([link removed]) this week.
Neighboring New Mexico is also feeling the heat this week, with triple-digit temperatures scorching ([link removed]) the southern part of the state. New Mexico is also waiting on a monsoon season that isn't likely to start until August ([link removed]) . Experts there attribute the delay to El Niño ([link removed]) , a seasonal pattern of warming and cooling in the Pacific Ocean which pushes moisture from the ocean toward the eastern U.S. Because of this, some parts of the state are already slipping back into drought ([link removed]) despite the wet winter.
Meanwhile in Montana, signs of drought are starting to appear. In the last month, Flathead Lake has dropped more than a foot ([link removed]) , and by July 12 it is expected to be 22 inches below full pool, the reservoir’s normal operating level in summer. Northwest Montana started the summer ([link removed]) with below average-snowpack and got little rain in the last few months. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, January to May 2023 was the fifth driest start ([link removed]) to the year in Flathead County since it started keeping records 129 years ago.
** Interior launches map to track Infrastructure Law funding
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The Department of the Interior launched a new interactive map ([link removed]) last week to track the over $7.3 billion distributed so far from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to over 1,300 projects nationwide. The tool is the first of its kind from a cabinet agency, according to Interior.
The launch of the map comes as Secretary Haaland makes multiple stops ([link removed]) on the Biden-Harris administration’s ongoing Investing in America Tour to highlight how the historic Infrastructure Law investments will support local communities and public lands across the country.
Quick hits
** New Mexico puts wildfire management funds into hiring and recovery
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KUNM ([link removed])
** Montana state wildlife officials confirm first sighting of Grizzly bear in the Pryors
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Billings Gazette ([link removed])
** Lake Mead and Lake Powell water levels have risen, but runoff slowing down
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KLAS ([link removed])
** Native Americans argue in court that 2 mining projects would destroy religious sites
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NPR ([link removed])
** Opinion: State’s complaint against BLM ranch purchase was a waste
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WyoFile ([link removed])
** Tracing mining’s threat to U.S. waters
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New York Times ([link removed])
** A racist past and hotter future are testing Western water like never before
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NPR ([link removed])
** Can mushrooms prevent megafires?
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Washington Post ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” You catch a fish and its gill plate is missing or its jaw is all malformed, are you going to eat it? ... No, you are not going to. When you lose that ability to fish, it disconnects you from your culture. It takes a whole thing away from the people—their society, their sense of place, their community and their family. It’s an extreme taking.”
—Tom McDonald, chairman of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, New York Times ([link removed])
Picture this
@NatlParkService ([link removed])
How do you catch a fish without a fishing pole? With your bear hands. 🎣 🐾
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